


Don't Leave Me Alone

by RosettaStarlight



Series: Lost and Found [2]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Catra (She-Ra) Needs a Hug, Children, Established Relationship, Family Feels, Feels, Gen, I Tried, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Light Angst, Minor Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Post-Canon, Sister-Sister Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:15:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24949837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RosettaStarlight/pseuds/RosettaStarlight
Summary: Catra's left alone with Kefira for the first time, and she's not sure what to do, but how hard could it be? She's fought in armies, battled against Horde Prime, and for a brief time, ran the Horde. How hard could it be looking after one tiny girl?Famous last words.------------------------Catra struggles to connect with her little sister. It's hard when she's been absent the first eight years. It's even harder when her sister is Different.All she can do is try her best and hope it's enough. That she's enough, but doubt still creeps in.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Catra (She-Ra) & Original Female Character(s)
Series: Lost and Found [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1814254
Comments: 5
Kudos: 72





	Don't Leave Me Alone

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place after my fic "Lost Inheritance," so I guess you don't NEED to read that one first to understand this one :)

"No, don't worry, it's no trouble at all."

She could have said no, they would have understood, or found someone else to watch Kefira for the night. But Catra had wanted to make up for lost time, wanted to have _some_ part in her little sister's life after having missed the first eight years of it. Of course, there were more than a few looks sent her way in Brightmoon when she walked around with a sleeping child on her shoulder that looked much too like her when she was that age, but she just rolled their eyes. What did they think? That she could have a kid that old at only 21?

Then again, they were in Etheria, a world of magic. Stanger things had happened.

Besides, she already knew Kefira was wired a bit _differently_ than herself, so she knew what _not_ to do in cases to keep her calm. And she loathed to be alone for even a moment, always trailing behind someone she knew, silent and clinging like a second shadow so she hadn't been too worried about losing her. What could go wrong?

Famous last words.

All Catra had literally done was turn her back for a couple minutes and the next thing she knew, Kefira had disappeared.

Okay, try not to panic.

How could she manage to fail at the simplest of tasks after being a big sister for only a few months? _How_? What was she going to tell her parents? _Sorry, the moment you trusted me to do what's supposed to be_ my job, _I lost your daughter and have no idea where she is?_

She grew up an only child, and then found out a few months ago she had a younger brother and sister. Albeit, her relationship with Namir was still...shaky, to say the least since there was still some hints of resentment there that he had held for her over the years that weren't going to just go away in a few days. But Kefira was her baby sister, that she knew absolutely nothing about yet still had a chance to get to know her and be a big part of her life. And she'd _lost_ her.

A normal child would be a handful enough to take care of, but according to everyone else, Kefira had always been _different_. It was clear as the day, with the way certain sounds and tunes would stick in her throat and how restless hands found comfort in moving in beats. At a age most children took to endless chatter, simply because the words on their tongue were so novel, she contented herself with verbal silence. But there was always music, songs she was always fascinated by; small body wandering as close as she'd dare to musicians playing in the street with wide eyes, as if she were listening with every one of her senses.

Though Namir told Catra she did know how to speak, she did it sparingly and with a slight impediment in her speech even as she took care with each word that left her mouth, a rare occasion when she spoke more than one full sentence that wasn't imitating what another had said or the verse of a song.

Catra tried to breathe, but found it impossible as possible scenarios ran through her head. Finally, she took a deep breath, held it for five seconds, and then slowly exhaled for five more. Panicking wouldn't help her find her. Okay, think about this carefully.

Kefira didn't like strangers, and if she'd been taken, there would've been a lot of noise, so she had probably saw someone she knew passing her by and latched onto them. Or what if she had overheard someone talking about her again like last time and was hiding from _her_? Catra pushed that thought away and searched through the rooms, catching Bow and Glimmer cuddling on Glimmer's bed as she threw the door to their room open.

Glimmer's head snaps straight up from where it had been nestled on Bow's shoulder, blushing furiously. "Catra!"

Catra can't find it in herself to give them her usual tease, eyes darting to every place her mind figured an eight-year-old could hide.

“Everything okay?” asked Bow.

"Fine!" Catra said too quickly, voice rising a pitch. "Did you see Kefira anywhere?"

"Yeah, I thought you left her with Adora when I caught her following her on her way to the gym—"

Catra was already off. At least she okay. With someone that wasn't her.

* * *

As Catra approached the close-roof gym, she heard a gentle humming of the opening cords of a song. She quickened her pace and stood outside the door to find Kefira poking her head around the edge of the door just enough so she could duck away at any moment, watching Adora train with rapt attention, her hands fidgeting at her sides, as they tended to do when there was nothing to occupy them.

Rather than immediately alert the girl to her presence, Catra followed her gaze. Adora's back was to them, and it certainly gave a nice view, granting her ample opportunity to watch her muscles shift and tense with each hit to the punching bag.

Slowly, Catra lowered herself to Kefira's level. "Do you want to actually say hello?" she asked, making Kefira jump as she finally looked up at her, blue eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. Sighing, she gently reached out to give her sister a quick look over. "You know I don't like it when you walk away without telling me first. Nearly gave me a heart attack."

Kefira's mouth snapped shut and she averted her eyes, offering no other reply. Her fingers had taken to tapping a staccato against her hips, one that didn't match the beat of any song Catra had heard.

"Come on," Catra said, voice gentle in its suggestion, because she may not know her well, but she knew forcing her into a situation she didn't want to be in wouldn't end well. Guess they had that in common. "Let's say hi."

Grabbing hold of her hand, Catra led her inside. She didn't feel any resistance to tell her she didn't feel like venturing to meet her girlfriend. It took a minute for Catra to get why she'd recognize Adora but still be hesitant to talk to her; she'd only seen _She-Ra_ , technically.

"Hey, Adora," Catra drawled as she came up behind her.

Adora stumbled in her next kick, almost losing balance. "Catra! You're back!" she said, turning to face her. Her face was flush and forehead beading with sweat, and her mouth opened to say something else when her eyes cast downward. She gasped in excitement and her eyes lit up even brighter. "Oh, hey, princess!"

Kefira had been so quiet as she tread across the room that Catra might have thought she wasn't there if not for the grip on her hand. As Adora reached out for her, she took that as her cue to cling to Catra like a lifeline, taking hold of her arm and burying her face into her torso. 

Adora crouched low to be at her level. "You remember me, don't you?" She seemed to be struggling to keep the disappointment from flashing across her face. She had to keep reminding herself to have the same amount of patience she had with Catra those first few months. So Adora didn't try to push, didn't go any closer to her, kept her hands behind her back and smiled.

Kefira peeked out at her, then looked up at Catra with an uncertain set to her features. She gave her sister what she hoped was an encouraging smile, avoiding looking into her eyes. That would only make the kid more anxious in a situation that was already unfamiliar for her in an unfamiliar place.

"It's alright, kid," Catra said. "Adora would't hurt a fly." Kefira only blinked, brows furrowing as the nervous tension slowly eased from her frame. "You remember playing with She-Ra back home, right? That's still Adora, just without all the glowy lights and stuff, and with slightly less muscles" She flashed a teasing smile Adora's way, causing a brief flush to cross her features.

A few moments of silence, Kefira's gaze peeking out from behind Catra as they focused on Adora's face, never once meeting her eyes. Then, eventually, she nodded her head. "Adora and She-Ra..." she said with a soft, lilting voice that was still getting a grasp on pronunciations. There was another pause as she considered her, head tilting to the side, but nothing else left her mouth.

"That's right," Adora smiled. She balanced her forearms on her legs, clasping her hands between her knees. Her brows furrowed briefly in concentration before she began to glow, Adora's grey eyes turning into the more bright blue of She-Ra's, her form growing taller and surrounded with a golden light. Then after seeing Kefira's widened eyes, she shifted back to herself. "See. Same person."

"I still prefer the original, though," Catra said with a raised brow.

There was a brief moment of silence, as if she were weighing the pros and cons of replying, before Kefira nodded. "Turning darkness to light, rising like the sun," she sang softly, recitating a verse of the song she'd overheard others singing of She-Ra and the Rebellion. "C'yra said something about you liking to train all the time like Mommy, but she used a word I got in trouble for saying."

"Catra!" The admonishment was light and thick with affection.

"Hey, I didn't think she heard me!" was all Catra could say in defense of herself, raising her hands in defense.

Her parents had taken the effort to avoid words inappropriate for someone her age that she might end up repeating. Thankfully, vulgar language did't seem to fit into the vocabulary she'd made for herself of words and sounds fit for repetition and experimentation. Especially since Catra hadn't exactly managed to scrub swearing from her own vocabulary.

Laughing, Adora stood upright. "Would you like to watch?"

Kefira, a little more bold now that there was one less stranger in the room, gave a little nod, and broke away from Catra to sit against the wall while still remaining close by. She watched the two of them from her spot, tapping her fingers against the hard floor.

Catra groaned once she was out of earshot, placing a hand to her hip and giving her head a mild shake, pinching the bridge of her nose. "How can someone so small give me this bad a headache?"

"What did she do?" Adora asked, halfway through one of her warm-ups. Sitting on the floor, she had begun stretching her legs out before her when she turned her head to look at Catra.

"It's more what I did," she sighed, dragging her claws down her face. "Do you know what I've been doing for the past hour? Looking for her, and then I found out she's been _here_ the whole time."

Adora winced. She folded her legs in a butterfly position. "If I knew, I would have brought her to you, I swear," she insisted. "I didn't even hear her."

"It's okay, Adora. Almost nobody does," Catra snorted. "I didn't hear her leave." Her expression dropped as she glanced back to where Kefira sat, now trying to mimic Adora's stretches. "I lost her, Adora. I had her for three hours and I lost her."

"Hey, it's okay." Adora reached out to grasp Catra's hand. "You're still getting the hang of this."

"That's the thing, I shouldn't _have_ to learn to get the hang of this!" she snapped, snatching her hand away, but quickly lowered her voice so as not to startle Kefira. "Adora, I'm a stranger to her," she hissed. "I know nothing about her, I don't know what her favorite foods are, or what color she likes, what she likes to do for fun, unless _someone else_ told me and the most Namir told me when he dropped her off was so I can keep her from having a meltdown. It feels like I'm being detailed on a target for a mission instead of talking about my baby sister, and the first time I'm left alone with her, I _lose_ her!"

There it was. Adora knew why she was so distraught now. Catra had found out she had a family a few months ago, found out that if not for Shadow Weaver or the Horde, she would have had a better childhood, a better life, two mothers and a father who loved her, and perhaps there was a possibility Namir and Kefira wouldn't have been born.... But if they had, at least Namir wouldn't resent her and Kefira wouldn't be so shy around her. All these years, Catra had told herself and Adora she hadn't cared, but that was before she knew her parents hadn't abandoned her like she thought. Now it felt like both sides were trying to compensate.

Maybe a little too much.

"It's not your fault you weren't there for her," Adora said, standing up and cupping Catra's hands. "I'm sure she understands that. She's young, Catra, and she's bound to run off now and then. Give her some time." She gave the words a moment to sink in, waiting for Catra's breathing to even out, and the feline woman blinked away any tears that had begun to form.

"You're right," she breathe shakily. "Sorry."

Adora gave her a quick and soft kiss, "Don't be sorry."

Catra gave a small smile. Adora always had known what to say when the thoughts in her head were getting too loud. 

Glancing over at the feline child who had apparently been paying more attention to Adora than she thought, now putting her little legs together and brows furrowed as she tried to touch her toes, Adora gestured to her. "Why don't you try to get to know her now?"

Catra nodded her head, and carefully, she walked over to Kefira, who turned her gaze to her after a heartbeat of pause. She glanced at Adora, who gave her a smile and a nod, before giving the child her full attention. 

"Your knees are flexing," she whispered. Kefira's eyes squinted in confusion, so Catra put her legs together and bent down, reaching further down until she could place the palm of her hands flat on the floor. "Like this, see? Adora never does it right."

"I heard that!"

Catra huffed out a laugh, lifting her head. When she turned it to the side, she caught the smallest of smiles grow on Kefira's face. 

They worked through the familiar routine stretches, watered down for Kefira's benefit. She'd never endured the Horde's training, and Catra wasn't about to give her the starting course, but it didn't hurt to teach her. Kefira didn't say much nor responded to Catra's attempts to start a conversation except for the occasional smile, nod, or shake of a head, but at the same time by the end of it, she almost felt like she'd made some progress.

 _Almost_ being the keyword. Doubt still nipped at her mind that she did her best to ignore. It wasn't until later that night as she put her to bed that she realized the little girl had doubts of her own.

Bedtime itself had been a _process_. Every time Catra thought she'd placed Kefira in bed, tucked her in, the little girl would make an excuse to keep Catra in the room, tugging on her arm and asking for a stuffed animal, or just tugging and pointing to a storybook, asking for story after story to be read. Either that or just when Catra thought she'd satisfied her and left her alone, she'd dash to stop the door from closing, poking her little head through to stare at her. And when now after she thought she'd finally calmed her and left the door open, she had been walking through the halls only to be alerted by Bow that she had a tiny shadow following her.

"Okay, that's it," Catra huffed, turning about to find Kefira standing there only two feet behind in a nightgown and stuffed dragon clutched to her chest. How those little legs managed to keep up without making a sound she'd never know. Cedar brown wild hair and tawny fur with small stripes on her limbs, she really did look like a shadow of her. "Come on, kid, we both need the sleep." In one quick motion, she grabbed Kefira, hefting her up into her arms, but by the way she wrapped her arms around her neck, Catra had a feeling this was what she wanted.

Nudging open the door to the room she'd set up with her foot, Catra set her down back in bed, but she stopped when Kefira sat straight up to watch her as she made her way back to the door. "What do I gotta do to get you to sleep?" she sighed, bending down to Kefira's level.

She didn't count on Kefira's answer, or how it made her heat ache. "Namir said you disappeared," she said in a quiet, uncertain voice that barely broke above a whisper, "and it made everyone sad. What if you disappear again?"

Oh, she was going to kill him later.

Catra had to take a moment to collect herself. "Kefira," Catra said, her voice soft, "I'm not going anywhere. I never meant to leave any of you, but someone took me away and your brother had to find me before I could come home. But I promise you, I'm not leaving you." 

The little girl gave an almost disbelieving look. "You promise?"

 _You promise?_ How old had she been when she asked the same thing, terrified of being left alone.

"I promise," Catra smiled. Then she thought a moment. "How about you sleep with me and Adora tonight? We can all have a little sleepover." 

The small girl crawled along the bed, and into her sister's arms. She let her hands wrap around her neck so she could easily carry her. Catra obliged and carried the girl towards the room that she and Adora shared. Adora was already snoring away in bed, but she supposed it was big enough for them. Setting her down, she let Kefira settle herself at the foot of the bed, curling up into a ball. 

Catra crept onto the mattress and smoothed the little girl's hair down, and it was as she laid down that she felt Kefira's tail wrap around her foot. 

A reassurance.

**Author's Note:**

> Kefira is based a bit off my brother; hates to be alone but if you don't keep them under a close eye or a backpack leash, they're gonna wander off because "ooh, what's that?" Anyway, hope you liked this!


End file.
